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Comment by danmaz74 | Hacker News Reader

It's great that tools like the Wayback machine are able to objectively prove attempts at lying like this one. I'm afraid, though, that the insane level of polarisation that politics has reached in this day will protect Cummings from any serious consequences: will his own faction care about this at all?

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A Minister has just resigned over Cummings-gate: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52806086

That has nothing to do with this story though. The actual scandal is that Cummings broke the law to drive hundreds of miles to his parents during lockdown, with his wife (who had covid) and child in the car. And didn't even go directly, but stopped by a local beauty spot on the way back. And now he has been coming up with flimsy excuses for this for the last few days.

Indeed. The Scottish Chief Medical Officer was forced to resign in similar circumstances. I seem to recall the Scottish Tories calling for her head.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/05/scotland-chi...

He didn't break any law

There are laws against leaving his house without a valid reason and driving with impaired eye sight, aren't there?

https://twitter.com/davidallengreen/status/12649555774715043...

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/350/regulation/6/ma...

> 6.—(1) During the emergency period, no person may leave the place where they are living without reasonable excuse.

That has to be read in conjunction with the government and crown prosecution guidance about what reasonable means, and both the Government and the Crown Prosecutuion Service are very clear: that type of travel was not allowed.

Specifically, if you or anyone in your household had symptoms, you were unable to leave your house - including for food and medicine. In any circumstances you were unable to go to a second home. One major reason for this is to ensure there was no strain on the local services - especially hospitals. Cummings caused that strain in Durham.

He has power over the Prime Minister that only the Prime Minister could explain. It is possibly narcissism or implicit blackmail. The Cummings character could dish the dirt and bring the PM down.

The wider Conservative Party do not hold him in high regard. Cummings isn't even in the Conservative Party. The Daily Mail is a good bellwether on this - there is no love for Cummings except from Boris. And Boris has got Brexit done so doesn't need his chum. But he has also been isolated from others during this infatuation with the Cummings.

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